Week 8 - Final week

8.11 Reflections

Week 8 - Final week

Important themes this week included appreciating the uncertainties which accompany climate forecasts, particularly forecasts of ice melting and hence sea level rise, and how much/by when we will act to curb fossil fuel extraction.

The greatest hazard facing UK (as we've seen this winter) is flooding, which could have a dramatic impact upon population centres including London, as well as reducing areas of prime agricultural land for growing food. These in turn will severely impact our economic system.

I was pleased to achieve 29/30 in both of the quizzes, although I needed to do a little research!

It was rather sobering to update the number of times the Thames Barrier has been closed since I first investigated this in Week 3 on 27th January. I shall be watching closely for news of further government actions to protect London from flooding.

Regarding the course as a whole:

I am already actively working to build resilience to climate change in my local community, through involvement with Transition in Kings (TiK) (www.transitioninkings.org) and Grand Union Community Energy Ltd. (www.guceltd.org)

At 73 years old I am not overly concerned about remembering all the facts and figures covered in the course, although I'm pleased to have learned several new concepts in the science of climate change, such as ocean acidification and urban heat islands, as well as gaining a better understanding of the uncertainties which accompany predictions.

Two new ideas will be particularly useful in future Transition work: the application of Carbon Budgets as a spur to action in a locality, and the individual Carbon Footprint Calculator on the DirectGov website.